According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. Recent studies have suggested that effectively treating obesity with GLP-1 agonists may be key to improving overall heart health. These findings are promising — but additional study is necessary, further highlighting the need for accurate GLP-1 patient data and consistent at-home health monitoring.
Healthcare providers can benefit from high-precision remote monitoring tools like cellular connected scales and blood pressure monitors that offer daily insight into a patient’s weight, BMI, body composition, heart rate, blood pressure and more. With more reliable and consistent patient data, care teams can make more informed decisions about a patient’s GLP-1 medication dosage and overall care plan.
Challenges Surrounding Cardiovascular Health
Right now, only one in four adults in the U.S. with hypertension (defined as blood pressure consistently above 130/80 mm Hg) has the condition well managed. Care teams have long struggled to find effective means to help their patients achieve better blood pressure control. It’s a challenge due to patients’ lack of adherence to long-term medication use, as well as difficulties in identifying poor blood pressure control and modifying therapy accordingly.
Healthcare providers already prescribe a range of medications, including diuretics, beta-blockers, and ACE inhibitors, to help patients get their blood pressure into a safe range. Safely administering blood pressure medications – with or without the addition of GLP-1s – is a balancing act. Even in the best of circumstances, patients often need dose adjustments.
Though titration of hypertension medication has been based on in-office blood pressure measurements, this has proven to be inadequate. Readings in an office setting may be artificially elevated due to white coat syndrome. In fact, the fallibility of these measurements led the International Society of Hypertension to recommend that hypertension diagnosis be confirmed by out–of-office blood pressure monitoring.
Even if in-office readings were 100% accurate, it’s simply not practical for patients to come to the office for daily monitoring to see how they’re adjusting to blood pressure medication.
The Value of Remote Biomarker Monitoring
While emerging therapies like GLP-1s hold the promise of reducing blood pressure, they’re not yet approved specifically for that purpose. Plus, studies have found that some GLP-1 medications may increase a patient’s heart rate.The novelty and uncertainty surrounding the effects of GLP-1s highlight the value of long-term at-home monitoring of weight, blood pressure, and other daily biomarkers under real-world conditions. This ensures that care teams can promptly access necessary data for timely intervention.
In addition, health programs can analyze the data they collect from in-home devices and produce robust research demonstrating the value of their program and GLP-1 treatment approach. Continuous remote monitoring not only equips healthcare professionals with the insights needed for precise decision-making — it also lays the groundwork for pioneering developments in personalized medicine and proactive health management strategies.
Motivating Patients on Their Health Journeys
Providers agree that non pharmacological lifestyle interventions are also crucial to improving a patient’s cardiovascular health. Studies have found that tailored and personalized health messages can be particularly effective in motivating patients to make healthy lifestyle choices. But this can be time-consuming for providers.
With more advanced monitoring devices that go beyond biomarker tracking, patients can receive automated messages and alerts from their care teams based on their daily measurements.These notifications appear on the screen of their medical device and may celebrate a milestone or serve as a medication or appointment reminder.
Fortunately, nearly a quarter of Americans are already using monitoring technology to help with motivation and accountability for health goals. Incorporating patient monitoring technology takes this one step further.
Finding an Accurate, Insightful Solution
Kristin Baier, MD, VP of Clinical Development at Calibrate, a leading clinician-guided and value-based obesity treatment program, recently expressed concern about ensuring safety and appropriate weight loss rates for patients on GLP-1 medication who are remotely monitored by healthcare providers. She noted the challenge of not being able to physically assess health metrics like weight and blood pressure without patients visiting a clinic, hindering the seamless transfer of data into their electronic medical records for long-term tracking.
High-precision remote monitoring responds to this concern and rises to the challenge, as it provides:
- Accurate and consistent collection of blood pressure, weight, body composition, and other key metrics from the comfort of the patient’s home
- Automatic transmission of this data to the patient’s care team
- Swift provider insight into patient well-being so patterns can be identified and medications or care plans can be adjusted
- Better patient/provider communication and shared-decision making
Moving Forward
In this new era of GLP-1 medications, official scientific guidelines from organizations such as the ADA, EASD, AACE, ACC, and AHA recommend regular monitoring of blood pressure in patients on GLP-1 therapies as part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management. Remote monitoring will also enable expanded research into the impact of GLP-1s on heart health, offering promising avenues for innovative chronic condition management strategies.
About Antoine Robiliard
Antoine Robiliard leads Withings Health Solutions, the B2B division of Withings, the global leader in cutting-edge health-tech devices. This division supports hundreds of thousands of new patients in their journey to better health every year. In 2014, Antoine started at Withings, managing consumer sales and marketing in Asia. Later, he headed Withings’ global sales team, prioritizing expansion in the U.S., the company’s largest market.
Antoine founded Withings Health Solutions in 2019 to bring Withings’ products into the healthcare industry, empowering providers with advanced patient-generated biomarkers to improve quality of care and health outcomes. He is passionate about enhancing patient engagement through innovative health-tech solutions, believing better experiences strengthen the patient-provider relationships, leading to better health results.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is informational and for content marketing purposes only. It should not be construed as medical advice. The content herein is not intended to replace professional medical consultation, diagnosis, or treatment. We expressly recommend that individuals seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional before considering the use of GLP-1 medications for the treatment of obesity or any other condition.